Medibio building credentials to "scale" via appointment of healthcare & telehealth icon to Board of Directors

SYDNEY, Australia and MINNEAPOLIS, July 19, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Medibio Limited (MEB or the Company) (ASX:MEB) (OTCQB:MDBIF), a digital health company that has developed an objective testing system to assist in the screening, diagnosis and treatment effectiveness of depression, chronic stress and other mental health disorders, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Adam Darkins, MB, ChB., MPHM, M.D., FRCS to the Board of Directors as Deputy Chairman. Dr Darkins has unique experience in taking national and trans-national virtual care delivery systems to scale.

Medibio Board member and fellow physician, Dr Frank Prendergast, M.D. said, "Adam is a wonderful addition to the Medibio Board. He complements our team, drawing on a wealth of experience gained from the practice of medicine, health care management, and having built one of the world's largest, telehealth programs. His proven track-record in tackling one of the current greatest healthcare challenges - how to introduce transformational new technologies that demonstrably increase access to care and reduce its cost - is what makes him so unique. His creativity and rigour, in design, and continuing development, of innovative care systems will help guide Medibio to meet anticipated milestones in our growth trajectory as we transition from clinical validation to regulatory approval, and then commence broader implementations. Adam will help us to lay the strategic foundations for large-scale operations in the pre-eminent health care systems of the future."

Dr Darkins developed an extensive understanding of patient care, clinical processes, and outcomes measurement from his physician training at Manchester University Medical School, UK, and further training/accreditation as a neurosurgeon and researcher at UCLA. Studying public health medicine at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and pioneering shared patient decision-making programs at the King's Fund, London, grounded him in leading transformative change with a particular talent for safely and effectively taking long-established hospital-based practice into primary care, community care and non-traditional settings. Thereafter, already renowned for his ability to utilise new information and telecommunication technologies to empower patients, increase access to care and reduce cost, he gained widespread US and international recognition for his leadership of telehealth programs at the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). At VA he developed health informatics, telehealth and disease management technologies to enhance and extend care and case management. Together with his team, Dr Darkins created a capacity that delivered virtual services to more than 480,000 Veteran patients each year via 1.4 million episodes of care. On any given day, 83,000 Veteran patients were using home-telehealth technologies to live independently at home and avoid institutional care.

Dr Darkins comes to Medibio from Medtronic Plc where, as Vice President for Innovation and Strategic Partnerships for the Americas Region, he worked on using new payment models to transform health care. He has been permanently based in the USA since 1997. Dr Darkins serves on the editorial board of Telehealth and e-Health Journal; is a former Medical Director in London; co-founded a start-up telehealth company; and has both written, and spoken widely on how to address the challenges and find solutions in establishing large virtual health care networks that meet major health care priorities and deliver high volumes of patient consultation/care as their return on investment.

Medibio CEO, Jack Cosentino said, "We are thrilled to have Dr Darkins join the Medibio board. As a visionary leader in telehealth, he shares our Company's passion for solving one of the world's most significant health epidemics. His experience in building virtual care systems will help us to address the significant, yet under-recognised need for mental health support services globally. His expertise and achievements in the telehealth, IOT and patient care arenas, and leadership experience at organisations, including the UK National Health Service, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Medtronic, complements an incredible team we are developing at Medibio, to exclusively focus on meeting this global need. We look forward to leveraging his knowledge, insights and relationships to heighten Mental Health awareness and identifying ways to reduce the stigma and isolation it can cause."

Medibio Chairman, Chris Indermaur stated, "We welcome Adam to the board of Medibio and value the addition of his leadership and passion to ours, as we collectively serve people with mental health conditions and seek to meet their aspirations for wellness and recovery."

About Medibio Limited
Medibio (ASX:MEB) (OTCQB:MDBIF) is a digital health company that has developed an objective test to assist in the diagnosis of depression, chronic stress and other mental health disorders. Based on research conducted over 15 years at the University of Western Australia, this test utilises patented (and patent pending) circadian heart rate variability and cloud based proprietary algorithms to deliver a quantifiable measure to assist in clinical diagnosis. Medibio's depression diagnostic is being validated in clinical studies undertaken by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and The University of Ottawa, among others. The clinical trials will support Medibio's application to become the first FDA approved, objective, and evidence-based approach to the diagnosis of mental health disorders. Medibio's technology also provides an objective method for the assessment of stress and mental wellbeing that can be translated to the workplace stress/wellbeing market, wearable technology and App market. Medibio was founded in Perth, Australia with offices located in Melbourne (VIC), and U.S. offices in Minneapolis, MN and Palo Alto, CA. Medibio is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Ltd (ASX) and trades on the OTCQB Venture Market. Investors can find Real-Time quotes and market information for the company on www.otcmarkets.com and www.asx.com.au.

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Source: Medibio Limited via Globenewswire